Rob Pincus is Right, a Secured Gun in Your Kid’s Room may be a Good Idea

Rob Pincus is no stranger to controversy. We’ve even taken exception to some things he has said here. However, Mr. Pincus’ controversial statements do have one effect that demonstrates he is a good teacher, they make you think. Let’s take a look at his ‘controversial’ statements at the NRA convention:

Now let’s take a moment to objectively look at what he’s saying. Mr. Pincus is not saying you should keep a gun secured in a quick access safe in your kid’s room under all circumstances. I wholly agree with him that if you can’t trust your child with a safe in their room you have bigger issues than home defense. However, if your child is responsible enough to be entrusted not to tamper with a gun safe then it is something to consider. You might be surprised to know that Mr. Pincus is not the first one to advocate this and I doubt he will be the last.

Many years ago I recall reading either a book or an article by one of the most renowned firearm instructors in the U.S. about defense of the home in case of invasion. In that article he not only advocated keeping a gun in a child’s room, but also training them in its use and specifically how they should respond with it in the case of an intruder. The photo with the piece included a picture of the Author’s young (maybe even pre-teen) daughter barricaded behind her bed with a H&K 94 9mm Carbine trained at the bedroom door. An image I’m sure that if it had been displayed at the NRA convention this last week would have caused more than a few anti-civil rights extremists to go into vapor lock.

So is a gun in a kid’s room a good idea for everyone? No it is not. However, it is an idea that should be given consideration. I will say though that if you determine that it isn’t you need to seriously examine why you said no and act to correct that issue.

Mr. Pincus has been and will continue to be both praised and vilified for his words. However, I think that once again he has shown his wort as an instructor as his words are getting everyone but the knee-jerk ‘guns are bad’ crowd to think. Who knows, with a little luck we may even be able to capitalize on this moment and get some of the ‘guns are bad’ people to re-examine their own biases and begin to consider supporting if not joining those of us who believe in responsible armed self-defense.

When I have conversations with “anti-gunners” I try not to be dogmatic in asserting my beliefs but rather to get them to come to the same conclusion I did. Guns have been a staple in the American family for years, long before there were safes or school shootings. You have to ask yourself what’s changed? If not the gun then what? I recently had this conversation with a childhood friends mother who lives in California and can’t help but be influenced by the media. I reminded her that her father, uncles and brothers all hunted and so did most of her friends families. But yet their schools weren’t being shot up by irate children, Why? These are the core questions I believe and I like how Mr. Pincus is making you think by making statements such as this. Because he’s right, if you can’t trust your kid with a secured firearm in their room how can you trust them with your car or even to stay home alone by themselves.